Jason Moloney: My Skills Are Far Superior; I Want It More Than Baez

Jason Moloney doesn’t just want to remain in contention for a bantamweight title shot Thursday night in Las Vegas.

The Australian veteran’s 10-round fight against Leonardo Baez has taken on even more importance now that his twin brother has lost his WBA world super flyweight title. Jason Moloney also wants to beat Baez to atone somewhat for Andrew Moloney’s upset, unanimous-decision defeat to Joshua Franco in the same ring Tuesday night at MGM Grand Conference Center.

The 24-year-old Baez (18-2, 9 KOs, 1 NC), of Mexicali, Mexico, has won six straight bouts since countryman Alfredo Vargas (14-3-3, 5 KOs) beat Baez by unanimous decision in a 10-round fight in September 2018. Baez defeated former WBA/IBO bantamweight champion Moises Flores (25-3, 17 KOs, 1 NC) by unanimous decision in his last bout, an eight-rounder February 6 in Indio, California.

“I’ve watched quite a lot of footage of him,” Jason Moloney told BoxingScene.com. “He throws a lot of wide, winging punches and tries to really load them up. He tries to be quite aggressive and looks like the kind of guy who looks for the knockout. But I think my skills are far superior and I think I want it more than him. Whether I’ve gotta use my skills or dig deep and fight, I’m prepared to do either of those, and I’m confident I’ve got what it takes to beat him.”

ESPN will televise the Moloney-Baez bout as the main event of a six-fight telecast scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. In the co-feature, Abraham Nova (18-0, 14 KOs), of Albany, New York, and Philadelphia’s Avery Sparrow (10-1, 3 KOs, 1 NC) will square off in a 10-round lightweight fight.

If Moloney overcomes Baez, he’ll likely find himself in prime position to challenge WBO bantamweight champ Johnriel Casimero (29-4, 20 KOs). Moloney is listed second in the WBO’s 118-pound ratings, but its number one contender, Chicago’s Joshua Greer Jr. (22-2-1, 12 KOs), lost a 10-round majority decision to the Philippines’ Mike Plania (24-1, 12 KOs) on June 16 at MGM Grand Conference Center.

The 29-year-old Moloney also is rated third by the WBA and fourth by both the IBF and WBC.

Moloney was supposed to battle Colombia’s Oscar Negrete (19-2-2, 7 KOs) on Thursday night, but Negrete pulled out of their fight less than two weeks ago due to an eye injury. That left little time for Moloney to prepare for Baez, but Moloney doesn’t think the late opponent switch adversely affected his preparation.

“It hasn’t bothered me,” said Moloney, who is listed as a 9-1 favorite over Baez. “We flew over to America prepared to fight anyone in the world. I didn’t know who I was fighting when I came here. I just trained extremely hard all year round and focused on my performance, making sure I’m doing everything that I can so that when I get in the ring it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side of the ring and that I’m prepared to take on anyone. This is a tough fight, but I couldn’t be more ready for it and I’m confident that I’ll win.” 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.